Garlic Sotanghon

Cooking pancit intimidates me. Yes I could whip up a pasta dish be it cream,  tomato or oil based in a jiffy and produce an instant crowd pleaser. But pancit ? Yikes.  It is the ratio of the noodles, broth or water, and oil that makes me chicken out whenever I think of cooking it.  I’ve had a lot of failed attempts. Too dry? Yes, I’ve ”successfully” done that.  Too watery? Yes, of course! How about being bland and boring? Sure.  Because of my numerous unsuccessful attempts in cooking pancit, I really have developed a certain respect for cafeteria  or carinderia cooks.  Sometimes it is what one assumes to be an easy dish to make  is the one that requires a lot of skill and experience.

Among the various noodles in the market- bihon, canton, and sotangon, it is the latter that is closest to my heart.  My mom used to bring us pancit as pasalubong from an authentic Chinese restaurant somewhere in Blumentritt, Manila. It tasted heavily of the wok taste  common among Chinese dishes, and yes, it was oily.  In rare times, oily can be equal to delicious. Sad but true.  Are you familiar with the type of pancit that some people eat with rice because it was very tasty? Yes, this was what she brought us.  Although I would have loved to experiment with  this  Chinese style pancit , I did not bother to do so because  it involves the use of a  thin aluminum wok plus very high heat to achieve the pleasantly familiar “burnt” wok taste.  I don’t use aluminum pans in my home cooking due to potential health hazards (alzheimers and skin problems anyone?).  I would rather go to an authentic Chinese restaurant and have some of my aluminum wok dishes served to me without my seeing how they were cooked. Maybe what I don’t “see” won’t hurt me. Hehe.

Back to this recipe. This noodle dish does not taste like any of its Chinese counterparts, but it has a well defined garlicky taste that makes you eat almost non-stop.  It goes well with fried chicken, inihaw na liempo, or lumpiang shanghai. It took me several attempts to create a pancit dish with the right amount of liquid and oil, and of course flavor that would be requested again and again.  Even if pancit dishes are notoriously known to spoil easily, this particular pancit dish can be cooked a day ahead. Just cool down to room temperature, then transfer to a sealed container (so that your whole refrigerator won’t smell of garlic).  I bring this to potlucks provided that it travels cold or straight from the refrigerator. Just mix first (some of the oil might settle at the bottom of the container) then reheat a few minutes.  I assure you it won’t turn soggy.

I hope you try making this dish—you won’t regret it.

Garlic Sotanghon

Yield: 4 or 5 servings

Ingredients:

225 grams  (1/2 lb) uncooked sotanghon noodles  (soaked in tap water for 10 minutes,  drained then cut into desired length)

400-500 grams chicken breast (boiled and shredded)

-Save stock to measure 1 1/3 cups ( add water if stock is less than 1 1/3 cups)

½ cup oil (vegetable or palm oil or any regular cooking oil)

2 heads garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons atsuete powder

½ - ¾  cup carrots, cut into short strips

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 – 2  tablespoon Patis or Fish Sauce

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

green onions/chicharon/extra garlic bits  for garnish  (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large pan, heat oil on low to medium heat.

2. Fry garlic until very light brown.

3. Add onions and sauté until transparent. Lower heat so garlic won’t burn.

4. Add atsuete powder in pan and dissolve well.

5. Add chicken strips, carrots, chicken bouillon, fish sauce, black pepper, 1 1/3 cups

    stock or water.

    Boil mixture on medium to high heat for a minute or until carrots are tender.

6. Add drained sotanghon noodles. Lower heat. Mix gently while simmering,

    approximately 3 – 5 minutes or until almost dry.

7. Garnish with green  onions/crumbled chicharon (pork cracklings)/ more fried garlic

    bits. Enjoy!